One Night With A Mysterious Billionaire (The Heiress's Revenge)-Chapter 60: that is a glow of aa woman in love

"That would be all," I said calmly, and my bodyguards immediately stepped forward, pushing the reporters aside as Lena and I walked toward the entrance of the auction hall.

Flashing cameras followed our every step, but I didn’t slow down. Lena’s fingers were laced with mine, and I made no effort to hide it.

We had barely stepped inside when Cynthia approached, as though she had been waiting for me all along. Her eyes immediately dropped to our joined hands. I saw it—the strain, the fury, the disbelief burning in her gaze as she looked between us.

"Raymond, what is this?" she demanded.

"What is what?" I feigned ignorance, my expression unreadable.

"We were supposed to come to the auction together. You promised Grandpa you would come with me."

"I don’t believe I ever made such a promise," I replied evenly.

"Even if you did not, don’t you think bringing another woman to an auction where your fiancée would be present is too much? We are engaged, Raymond."

"I don’t remember being engaged to you."

By now, a small crowd had gathered. Soft gasps rippled through the hall at my statement. Whispers followed, curious eyes fixed on us as though we were the evening’s true entertainment.

"But we held an engagement party!" she insisted.

"Yes. One that only you attended. I wonder why that is?"

"Our families are the ones who engaged us."

"Since when did I start doing what my family told me?"

Her composure began to crack. I could see embarrassment creeping up her neck, but she held on stubbornly.

"Miss Monroe," I said coldly, my voice carrying enough authority to silence the murmurs around us, "please stop embarrassing yourself. I never promised you marriage, nor did I attend the engagement you organized for yourself.

There was never a time I acknowledged such an engagement, nor did I release any statement claiming we were together. Don’t be delusional and mistake friendship for a proposal."

Her lips trembled, but I continued.

"For the sake of our long-term friendship, I tried to speak to you privately about this self-deception. Since you refused to listen, I will be forced to take legal action if this harassment continues."

I tightened my hold on Lena’s hand.

"My woman is already tired of the judgmental stares and whispered comments. My team will release an official statement tonight. Anyone found spreading false information about me or my woman will be sued."

I didn’t wait for her response. "If you’ll excuse me."

With that, I turned and led Lena away, heading toward the VIP section reserved for us that evening.

Just before we left her sight, I caught a glimpse of Cynthia’s face—shock melting into humiliation, then into pure anger. The small, satisfied smile on my lips refused to disappear. I couldn’t help it. The drama had been necessary.

Once inside the VIP lounge, the noise from the main hall dulled into a distant hum. We sat down, finally away from prying eyes. I leaned back in my seat, allowing myself to truly look at Lena.

She was breathtaking. Composed, elegant, yet undeniably aware of the power she held.

"Is there a reason you really wanted to embarrass Cynthia?" Lena asked, studying me carefully.

"Yes, there is," I answered without hesitation. "And I must say, I care very little about her embarrassment right now." My gaze traveled slowly over her form.

"Can you be serious for once?" she said, rolling her eyes.

"I am serious. I have my reasons. I just don’t want to talk about them."

"Alright," she replied softly, stepping closer. "But I’d love to hear it from you one day. You wouldn’t want me finding out from someone else, would you?"

Before I could respond, she straddled my lap and kissed me.

I smiled against her lips and pulled her closer.

"Kitten, you’re becoming bolder by the day. And I love it."

I deepened the kiss, momentarily forgetting where we were. My hands rested at her waist, holding her firmly as the tension between us flared.

A throat cleared loudly.

But I was far too lost in her to realize that the sound had come from inside the same room."Never knew we were coming here for some free show?"

Damon’s voice rang clearly through the room, and my kitten hurriedly pulled away from the kiss, her cheeks flushed. I lifted my gaze lazily toward the intruders—Damon, Liam, and Sylvia. The one thing they had in common at that moment was their identical expressions: mouths wide open, eyes filled with unfiltered shock.

"You did not tell me they were coming," Lena admonished softly, her fingers pressing lightly against my chest.

"But I did tell you they were coming when we went shopping," I reminded her calmly.

"That does not count. You should have reminded me again," she countered.

We continued bickering as though we were alone, Lena completely forgetting that we had an audience. My hands were still firmly resting on her waist, and quite frankly, I didn’t care that they were there. Let them watch. This was my space.

"Are you guys going to pretend that we are not here?" Liam finally broke the silence.

Lena suddenly realized she was still seated on my lap and nearly jumped down in embarrassment. I had anticipated that reaction. The last thing I wanted was for her to trip, so I tightened my hold around her waist, preventing her from falling.

"No need to apologize to them, kitten. This VIP booth belongs to your man," I murmured. "If we want privacy, we can simply ask them to leave so we can continue from where we stopped."

Before she could protest, I leaned in and captured her lips again.

"Stop it, Raymond. Put me down!" Lena protested, her voice flustered.

"On one condition," I replied smoothly. I wouldn’t be Raymond if I didn’t turn her embarrassment into an advantage.

"What do you want?" she asked cautiously.

I leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I want us to finish what we started here, after the show."

"Raymond, that’s not possible and you know it," she hissed, her face burning.

"Then I’m not putting you down."

She exhaled sharply. "Alright, I agree. Just put me down."

Satisfied, I smiled and gently set her on her feet.

"I’m sorry about that. You can all come in," Lena said, attempting to regain composure.

"Are you sure we are allowed to come in?" Liam asked with mock seriousness.

"No," I answered bluntly, "but Lena said you all can come in, so I suppose I cannot stop it."

Sylvia, who had been quiet all along, finally stepped forward. "Lena, how are you?"

They exchanged quick air kisses before pulling each other into a warm hug.

"I missed you, girl. You didn’t even come check on me after we arrived. You know I don’t have any friends here except you," Lena complained playfully.

"I’m sorry. I thought you needed time to settle in and I didn’t want to bother you. But don’t worry, I’m here now," Sylvia assured her.

I watched as Sylvia effortlessly stole Lena’s attention. Within seconds, they were laughing and chatting animatedly, completely forgetting I existed.

"Never knew a day would come when I would see Raymond monopolize someone like this," Damon muttered. "Can you imagine him sulking because Sylvia is getting more time with Lena than him?"

"And he said he doesn’t love her," Liam added in a hushed tone.

They both chuckled, and to my annoyance, joined me in staring at the two women.

"I cannot wait to see everything blow up in his face," Damon said casually.

I sighed and turned toward them. They had already made themselves comfortable, helping themselves to drinks like they owned the place.

"Did you come with Sylvia?" I asked Liam.

He shook his head. "I met her downstairs and invited her up."

"Still haven’t spoken to her properly?" I pressed.

He shook his head again.

"You do know that girl has been waiting for you to come around. I just hope that when you finally decide to go to her, it won’t be too late."

"Don’t you think I know that?" he muttered. "I just don’t know how to start."

"Start somewhere," I replied simply.

He sighed. "Since we are discussing me, what about you two? When are you both getting your own woman?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Our case is different," Damon answered quickly.

"We don’t have any woman waiting for us."

"What about Raymond, who apparently has two women waiting for him?" Liam teased.

"No, I don’t," I corrected sharply. "Cynthia is not my woman. And Lena... we are on a contract. No one is waiting for me."

"Look at Lena," Liam suddenly said.

Damon and I turned toward her. My gaze silently demanded an explanation.

"Do you see that glow?" Liam asked.

My eyes darkened.

"That is the glow of a woman in love. A woman at peace. I hope you know what you’re doing."

His words lingered heavily in the air.

I looked at Lena more carefully. Her smile was brighter than it had been the day I first met her.

Whatever Sylvia had said must have been hilarious because she threw her head back as she laughed.